up next, tax hikes, overspending, uncertainty, fiscal cliff threatening the economy, but maybe not? we take it all up with moody's chief economist, and deutsche bank senior economist here next. stay with us. lou: you know, it may surprise some that december is historically the strongest month for investors. the s&p500 posting gains in december, 82% of the time since 1990. it's that 18% that should trouble folks, but are concerns with the fiscal cliff giving investors a reason to be less than optimistic? joining me is john, and carl, senior economist for deutsche bank. gentlemen, thank you for being here. start with the treasury secretary. the man in charge of our treasury is out telling everyone that the administration he works for is a part of is perfectly prepared to go over the fiscal cliff in order to raise a tax rate to 39.6%. does that make any sense to you? are you shocked, surprised? >> well, i guess i'm not surprised given we're in the early stages of the discussion, but for the economists and forecasters out there calling this is the fiscal slope, not a cliff or believe it